Daydream in Red
by StrawberryDoll
Summary: Three years ago Matsumoto Himari awoke on the road to the afterlife; a soul no longer attached to her body. As she walked the seemingly deserted road she met a man who changed her life forever. Two years later she found herself traveling with the notorious Sanzo Party on a search to find out the truth of her death. ( Hakkai x OC Himari )
1. Chapter 1

_The silence was maddening. _

_"Is anyone out there?" Himari screamed into the darkness._

_It produced no reply. She had been walking for what seemed like hours. She had awoken on a cold dirt road in the middle of no where. There was only a straight path leading forward surrounded by total darkness. With no other choice, she followed the path for hours and called out occasionally in hopes that someone could hear her. _

_"What is this place..."_

_"It seems that you've found your way into the afterlife. Please, tell me. How is it that someone so young has had her life taken from her?" a voice called from the darkness._

_"Life...taken from me? What do you mean!" Himari asked the body less voice. As far as her eyes could see there was absolutely no one who could be speaking to her._

_"Ah it seems you don't know what is happening. Allow me to enlighten you dear. You're dead" the voice chuckled. "Please tell me how you died, I'm very intrigued!"_

_"I'm not dead," Himari pushed her bangs out of her face, annoyed. "Now please tell me how to get out of here. My patience wears thin. I must return to-" Wait. Where did she have to return to?_

_"Return where my dear? You cannot leave this place." Himari stopped walking. Really. Where did she have to go? What was she doing before she got here in the first place? She couldn't remember. "I-I don't remember where I have to return to..." She slowly lowered herself onto the floor and sat with her legs crossed and looked at the floor._

_"Hmm I take it you don't even know how you died. You poor, poor thing. I pity you. Tell me dove what is your name?"_

_"Matsumoto Himari. Please show me where you are, it's strange talking to nothing" she replied to the voice. As soon as she spoke she felt a presence in front of her. She saw red and gold and looked up. Before her stood a man with piercing red eyes and black hair that fell against a pale, beautiful face. He wore robes that looked fit for a king. Golden threads and flowers melded together in intricate designs upon red silk. He wore a sword strapped to his waist by a golden sash._

_"Am I to your liking?" The man laughed as Himari gaped at him. She's never been in the presence of someone so...unreal. He was so much taller than she was, especially since she was sitting. His face held a playful and curious expression as he looked down at her._

_"Who are you?" she asked looking up at him. "My name is Kaito. I am a demon prince from the lower world. It seems that you and I have died at the exact same time and therefore are destined to walk to the afterlife with only each other as company. What a cruel and boring way to go, I think" he smiled, "although I'm happy I got someone who's at least decent to look at."_

_Himari was at a loss for words. So she really was dead, at least, if he was too. She sat silently and turned her gaze downward again. It wasn't fair that she was dead. What had happened? She had so many questions but she knew that not even Kaito could answer them. The two stood in silence until Kaito spoke again._

_"Tell me Miss Himari," he began "Would you like a chance to live once more?"_

_"Yes" she answered. Could he really give her another chance?_

_"Then make a deal with me." He extended his clawed hand towards her. She looked up: his red eyes meeting her pink ones, and placed her hand in his._

* * *

Himari awoke to the sound of moving tires and loud snoring. She had fallen asleep on the ride to another town. Currently her bum was stuck in the valley between the front and back seats of Hakuryuu and she had sunk till she hit the bottom, leaving her legs resting awkwardly between a sleeping Gojyo and Goku who were using them as pillows. She attempted to push herself up from between the seats and only ended up scooting herself onto the back seats, but still facing the wrong direction. She let out a small huff of annoyance and swiveled around as carefully as possible. She hoped her moving hadn't woken the sleeping pair as they now had no legs to use as pillows.

"Ah Himari, you're awake. Did you sleep well?" Hakkai asked from the front seat.

"Heh yeah I guess, woke up uncomfortable though" she yawned.

"Well we're nearing a new town so hopefully you'll get a better night's sleep there."

"That sounds pretty good right about now," she placed her elbows on the top of the front seat and looked up ahead. Sure enough a new town was right in view. She turned her head to the left and looked at Sanzo who was sleeping in the front seat. He seemed a lot more peaceful when he wasn't awake, and a lot less irritable. She continued to watch him and laid her head against her arms. The silence was nice.

Her peaceful priest-watching was soon disturbed, however, as he opened his mouth to speak,

"You better have a damn good reason why you're watching me sleep, woman." He grumbled.

Peaceful atmosphere ruined.

She let out a nervous laugh, "I was just admiring your beauty Sanzo ~"

"Well quit, you freak." He grunted and turned over so he wasn't facing her.

She laughed nervously. Even while half asleep Sanzo was still terrifying.

After reaching the town Himari woke up Goku and Gojyo. She followed the four into the inn they would be staying in for the night. Sanzo paid for the last three rooms and they all stood around the lobby discussing their sleeping arrangements.

"I'm getting my own room. You all deal with the rest yourselves," Sanzo grumbled and left up the stairs. Of course he would get his own room.

Gojyo was the first to voice his opinion.

"I refuse to sleep with this half brained monkey! His stomach growls all night! I can't ever sleep!"

"Hey Gojyo shut up! At least I don't try to bring chicks over!" Goku and Gojyo fought back and forth as Himari and Hakkai stood back and watched. It was way too late for this kind of arguing.

"Hey, Goku. I'll room with you" Himari said pulling him away from Gojyo before they started throwing punches at each other.

"Hey! Monkey you can't take Himari! I am not sharing a room with another man" Gojyo growled.

"Hima-chan wants me you retarded water sprite, not your perverted ass."

"What did you just say to me you brat?" And the fighting began again. Himari sighed.

"Okay whatever. I'm going to a room. I'm way too tired to argue about who gets what room. Goodnight Hakkai, Goku, Gojyo. Sleep well."

Himari walked to her room and closed the door behind her. She left the key somewhat sticking out from under the door so that whoever got her room could enter. Entering the bathroom she peeled her clothes off and jumped into the shower. After a fast shower she brushed her teeth and rummaged through her bag, pulling out some shorts and a tank top. She changed quickly and slid into her bed. As soon as her head hit the pillow she was gone.


	2. Chapter 2

"Hima-chan! Hima-chan! Wake up it's time to eat breakfast! Himaaaaaaaaaaa-channnnnn!"

Hmm? Himari turned over and pulled the covers over her face. The bed was so soft and so warm. It felt so much better than the back seat of the jeep.

"Hima-chan!" she heard Goku screaming at her.

Oh, wait. Sitting up in bed she looked to her side to see Goku jumping up and down excitedly. It seemed like Goku had been her room mate, as usual.

"Oh...good morning Goku" she said rubbing sleep out of her eyes. She placed her feet on the floor and forced herself out of bed.

"Hima-chan, it's time to eat breakfast! I'll see you downstairs!" and with that Goku dashed out of the room to go feast downstairs.

Himari, however, was not as enthusiastic. She took her time getting dressed and brushed her teeth. Spitting the toothpaste out, she wiped her mouth clean and walked back into the room. Goku's bed was a total mess. It looked like it had been mauled by an animal. She sighed and began to straighten out the sheets. She hated unmade beds. _"How can someone so small be so messy?"_ she thought to herself, picking Goku's pillows up off the floor. Once she was done she exited the room into the hallway while carrying her bag. Following the stairs to the first floor she noticed the Sanzo Party had already begun feasting without her.

"MONKEY THAT WAS MY PLATE OF EGGS!" Gojyo screamed across the table.

"Was not! It belongs to me!" Goku replied, shoveling down the plate of eggs.

"Fine, then I guess you don't mind me stealing your sausages then do you?"

"No way those are mine you filthy roach!"He reached across the table and tried to get his plate of sausages back from Gojyo who greedily began to eat them.

Finding an empty seat between Gojyo and Hakkai she made herself comfortable and set her bag down besides her. She noticed that Sanzo was sitting as far from the group as possible while reading a newspaper; a steaming cup of coffee in one hand. _"Very smart, Sanzo"_ she thought and turned to watch Gojyo and Goku with interest, watching them steal pieces of food of each others plates like uncivilized animals. An idea hit her, and while the two were distracted with yelling at each other, she sneakily began to pick pieces off their plates and stuffed them in her mouth.

"You guys sure do have great taste in food!" she beamed, mouth full of breakfast items as she reached her chopsticks over to take another bread roll off of Gojyo's plate.

Both Goku and Gojyo stopped their bickering to stare at her, faces red from yelling.

"Himari did you just..."

"Hima-chan..."

Silence. The atmosphere was tense. Sanzo sipped his coffee and Hakkai laughed nervously. Everyone knew what was coming.

"THAT WAS OUR FOOD!" The two screamed in unison and jumped up from their seats.

"It's fine, just order more food," she said taking a drink of some apple juice. "Besides...you guys always eat everything. You'll get fat if you keep it up."

A staff member from the inn walked towards the table,

"Uhm excuse me...you've eaten all of the complimentary breakfast so there isn't any left for our other guests...Uh, and you're also causing a scene. My boss has asked that you please leave at once." she said, obviously embarrassed to have had to say something to the group.

"Let's go" said Sanzo, placing the newspaper down and taking one last sip of his coffee "We're sorry for causing you trouble.

* * *

The hot sun beamed on Himari's head and she desperately tried to shield herself from it with her bag. After being kicked out of the inn the group had decided to go stock up on supplies. The shopping center she was at, however, was outdoors. The people of the town seemed completely fine in the blistering heat, but Himari could feel herself melting with every step she took on the hot pavement.

"So, how is it that we got stuck with the outdoor market and not the nice, shady one?" she asked.

"Well, you wanted to come get food with me instead of looking for clothes with Goku and Sanzo," replied Hakkai as he inspected some fruit at a stand. He seemed completely unaffected by the heat.

"It's not my fault I didn't want to be with Sanzo. If it was just me and Goku I would have gone," she grumbled. "Besides I would have been tempted to buy clothes and you know I don't have room for them. I didn't exactly want to go with Gojyo either..."

"Say, do you think we should get apples or oranges?" he asked holding each fruit up.

"Apples. Oranges are way too messy" she replied looking at the sky. A cloud had covered the sun momentarily, giving her some relief from the heat, and a few other gray ones followed. It was going to rain?

"Uh Hakkai are you done getting food? It really looks like it's gonna rain soon" she said as she noticed people heading inside and taking cover under food carts. The sky slowly began to get dark as Hakkai payed for the food.

"Let's go find the rest of the group" he said starting to walk towards the shopping center that Goku and Sanzo were at. It was a lot farther than they thought and as they walked they soon began to feel tiny drops of water. The tiny drops then doubled in size and soon a downpour rained on their heads, soaking their clothing and shopping bags.

Himari let out a sigh and began to quicken her pace towards the shopping center. No one was visible in the streets anymore and the ground was becoming mud under her feet. Her hair was completely soaked and she could feel it like a weight wanting to drag her head down.

"This sure is unfortunate" Hakkai laughed beside her.

"Yeah, yeah unfortunate! This sucks! Can we even leave if it's raining this hard?"

"Well, probably not. Hakuryuu would get sick and we'd get stuck in the mud. So I guess we're stuck here till the rain clears up"

"Mmmm...that really is shame" Himari said and looked at the sky. At the rate the rain was falling they wouldn't be out of the town until tomorrow. Even though it was a nuisance, she actually did enjoy the rain. She could obviously tell that Hakkai did not, though. In the few months she had traveled with the Sanzo Party she noticed that they all seemed to become a little more melancholy when it rained.

A little more walking and they reached the shopping center Goku and Sanzo were at. They walked through the main doors and sure enough Sanzo and Goku were sitting at tables, watching the rain. Gojyo sat at another table near them with Hakuryuu in his lap. As soon as the little dragon saw Hakkai it peeked it's tiny head out of Gojyo's lap and flew towards him, nuzzling his face into Hakkai's neck.

"Kyuu ~"

"Hello Hakuryuu" he said stroking the dragon's neck.

"Hey, Hima-chan! You and Hakkai made it back, finally. We were starting to get worried" Goku said

"You all worry too much, we got caught in the rain is all" she replied, moving her wet hair to the side and wringing it out. She took some of the water and splashed it at Goku playfully "So cute though, Goku. I'm glad you worried ~"

"Hey! That's not nice" he said wiping the water off his face with a smile.

Himari took a seat next to him.

"Hey Goku, do they have any sweets at this shopping center that grumpy Sanzo won't let you have?" she whispered to him

"Yeah! There's this really nice ice cream looking stuff upstairs. I wanted some but Sanzo won't buy it for me," he whispered back sadly

"Hmm, well you guys, I shall return soon. I feel like buying some clothes, I'm taking Goku with me! Bye!" Himari said, grabbing Goku's hand and darting across the shopping center with him.

Sanzo took a puff of his cigarette and let out a sigh.

"Damn woman" he muttered.

"Oh please Sanzo just let them have some fun. It's not like we can leave anyway," said Gojyo as he stared out the window

"Meh...you're right."

The three sat and watched the rain as people chatted and shopped around them. Hopefully the rain would stop soon so they could be on their way.


	3. Chapter 3

Goku led Himari onto the second floor, towards the ice cream shop that he had passed with Sanzo earlier.

"It should be around here...somewhere..."

Their search was cut short however as they felt the floor underneath them begin to shake and people around them began to scream.

"What is this?!" Himari asked as she and Goku began to run back towards the group. She felt a large amount of demonic energy but she couldn't figure out where it was coming from.

"We know you're here, Sanzo Party! Show yourselves!" someone yelled from the screaming crowds. "We'll kill everyone in this damn place if you don't show yourselves!"

Before they could even make it downstairs the floor underneath them cracked and began to fall. Himari felt herself falling and landed hard on the first floor. Rubble fell around her and she tried her best to dodge the debris. People were still screaming around her and she felt herself get stepped on a few times _"Shit...where's Goku!?" _she thought frantically looking around. He was no where to be found. She stood up quickly and began to run against the sea of people trying to escape the shopping center. As she ran she saw tons of demons attacking people at random. One of them noticed her and ran towards her. _"Shit!"_

"Well who do we have here? Haven't you been traveling with the Sanzo Party little girl? How about you tell me where they are" he said extending his claws.

"Hmm, how bout I not?" Himari said. News of her somewhat joining the party had spread fast, but she wouldn't allow a demon to take her down. She had her reasons for joining the four on their journey west, she couldn't let anyone stop her.

"Show me what you've got, girlie" the demon snarled as more of his friends appeared behind him.

Himari's eyes narrowed. It really wasn't lady-like to fight, but in this case she had to.

* * *

"Well, that takes care of em" Hakkai said dusting his hands off. A pile of dead and knocked out demons lay behind him.

"How many did ya get Hakkai, I counted at least twenty," smirked Gojyo as his shakujo's chains retracted.

"Haha, I got twenty one! I win, Gojyo!" Goku yelled happily as he sat on his pile of defeated demons.

"Gentlemen I'm sorry to break it to you, but I have twenty two" Hakkai said smiling.

Sanzo stood dusting his robes off and scoffed.

"I beat the three of you: twenty-four"

The shopping center was completely destroyed now, but they had managed to kill all the demons that had attacked them. The rain had let up and they could see the sun coming out from behind some clouds outside.

"Hey," Goku began as he looked around "where's Himari?"

"Himariiiiiiiiiiii!" Gojyo called out. They hadn't seen her during the whole fight. Goku had returned alone.

"Where do you think she is? Hakkai asked.

"Hm, troublesome woman. We shouldn't have brought her along with us in the first place. She's probably dead somewhere in the rubble" said Sanzo as he lit his cigarette.

"Hey guys! Are you alright?" they heard a voice call. Himari emerged from behind some rubble completely unscathed and holding a shopping bag.

"We're perfectly fine, what about you?" Gojyo asked.

"Yeah! That was some earthquake, wasn't it?"

Earthquake...? Did she really not know what happened? Sanzo's eyes narrowed as he watched her.

"Uh well we're glad you're alright" Gojyo continued, a bit confused.

"Haha that's great, well the rain has stopped. Let's go!" she said as she turned on her heels, holding her bag behind her, and began to walk outside. Goku followed her while the other three stayed behind and watched them go.

"Sanzo..." Gojyo began to speak

"Yeah, I know... There's something off here" Sanzo pressed his cigarette onto a large chunk of floor that had fallen during the battle.

"Hmm, should we ask?" Hakkai asked

"Nah, let's not" Gojyo replied as the two began to walk off "At least she wasn't involved in that battle"

Sanzo stood back for a few more moments. The others hadn't noticed, but he had.

There was blood peeking out from under Himari's right sleeve and her black boots were soaked in water as if she had tried to clean them. From what, he didn't know. But he knew for sure that she was aware of the fact there was no earthquake.

* * *

_"Oh dear, this so messy. My boots are ruined..." Himari sighed. She hated stepping in blood, especially after it's been splashed onto her during battle as well. Her once perfectly clean black boots now held an almost unnoticeable red tint._

_"If I don't wash them soon it'll cake up..." Himari slowly made her way around the corpses that littered the area._

_The demons had really been all talk. It took her only a few minutes to dispose of them. The only damage she sustained was a small but deep cut across the lower half of her right arm, but it would heal. "What to do, what to do..." she thought. She was leaving bloody footprints wherever she walked. Her boots had been specially crafted further back East and there really was no way she could get another pair. She walked into a clothing store and threw some stuff in a shopping bag. Stealing was wrong but she had to make it seem like she hadn't just been in a fight. Exiting the store she found a knocked down wall and a bunch of muddy water puddles._

_"This will have to to," she said taking her boots off and began to dunk them into the puddles. She would at least get the blood out so they wouldn't get nasty. If mud transferred on them she could scrape it off without any serious damage. After cleaning her boots she slid them back on and her skin crawled. The feeling of completely soaked boots was disgusting. They hadn't even gotten that wet when she was stuck outside in the rain. She shook the feeling off and began to walk towards the entrance of the mall. Rounding a corner and walking between two large pieces of rubble she noticed the Sanzo Party gathered by the entrance._

_"Hey guys! Are you alright?" she called to them._


	4. Chapter 4

It had been a few months since the incident at the town shopping center. The party had traveled a considerable distance, but they could all feel that something was off. At every battle they came across in a town, Himari would disappear and return after the battle, acting like it hadn't happened at all. They were all starting to grow weary of the companion they had picked up. Their suspicions were answered one hot day in the desert:

"Hakkai, how long till the next town?" Goku whined "I'm starving back here!"

"We've got another two days ahead of us Goku, you'll have to make due with the food we picked up at the last town," said Hakkai as he drove.

The heat of the desert was getting to everyone in the car. Sanzo had undone the top half of his robes and was fanning himself off in the front seat while Hakkai drove. Goku and Gojyo hadn't argued for a good three hours and were slumped back in their seats in hopes that conserving energy would help with the heat. Himari sat with her legs crossed on the back of jeep staring out at the sand behind them. Her shoulders were slumped and she could feel the sun beating down on her head and back. It was a lot better than it hitting her face, but the heat was still unbearable. She fanned herself lightly with a paper fan and she swore she saw vultures hovering over the jeep high against the sun. _"Remember Himari, this will all be over with once you reach the West...no more hot car rides and fighting demons...no more-"_ she thought to herself. Her thoughts were cut short however, as the jeep lurched and was thrown into the air. She went sailing through the air and landed with her face in the sand.

"What the hell is that?!" Gojyo asked

Pulling her face out of the sand Himari saw a giant snake-like demon rising from the ground under where the jeep had been. She felt something moving underneath her and screamed as a hand reached up to grab her wrist. She quickly shook it off and scooted quickly to the group. More hands began to pop out of the sand, surrounding them. The hands then began to pull themselves out of the sand and bodies of demons followed.

"Sanzo party! We've been waiting for you to cross this desert for months! What took you so long?" a voice asked.

The party turned to see a demon with scaly, tanned skin. She wore a very short kimono that showed quite a bit of cleavage and thigh. On her left leg was a tattoo of a snake that wound around it. She was smiling wickedly at them, a forked tongue protruding from her lips. More demons began to pull themselves out of the sand behind her and the large snake dove into the sand and re-appeared behind her.

"I am the famous Chisame! I rule this desert. Please, tell me you have heard of me?" she asked with a smirk

"Nope. Never heard of you," Sanzo stated bluntly. He fixed his robes and pulled his banishing gun out "Now move it or I'll move you."

"My how rude of you, I'll make sure you never forget my face Sanzo," She extended her hand and it turned into a scaly, reptile-like claw.

The demons around her soon began to charge towards the group and the giant snake buried itself back under the ground.

"Stay back, Himari!" said Gojyo as he hacked away at some demons. Besides him Hakkai and Goku were taking on demons of their own.

"Haha, okay ~" she said as she backed up a bit. _"Shit, why did this fight have to be out in the open like this? There's no place for me to go"_ she thought as she looked around. More demons were popping up left and right, but so far none had attacked her.

That is until she felt the ground underneath her begin to shake violently. She jumped away and Chisame's giant snake appeared before her, hissing as purple liquid dripped from it's mouth. The liquid fell to the ground and with a sizzle the sand it had touched disintegrated. It lunged at her with an open mouth ready to devour her.

_"Shit..."_

* * *

Demons popped up left and right. Gojyo could hardly keep up with them. The more he killed, the more came.

"Jeeze, can't I get a break here?" he asked, annoyed.

"Haha, there really are a lot of them. When do you think they'll stop coming?" asked Hakkai as he backed up. He was back to back with Gojyo, blasting the demons that came near them with his chi.

"Probably not until we defeat that Chisame chick," Gojyo replied, kicking a demon that tried to come up from under him "How well do you think Sanzo is up against her by himself?"

"He should be able to handle it. He is Sanzo, after all" Hakkai blasted a couple more demons away and more took their place.

Goku was only a short distance away, beating demons down with ease.

"This is so easy! You guys aren't a challenge at all!" he laughed as demons charged at him, ready to kill. "How about you guys give me a challenge?"

**Bang! **Sanzo fired at Chisame who dodged and lunged for him.

"Genjo Sanzo, I would have thought you were much stronger than this!" she laughed as she slashed at him with his claws

Sanzo felt himself begin to lose his footing as he tried to dodge her attacks. The sand underneath him kept sliding around and becoming uneven. It was making it a lot harder for him to dodge her blows.

"You talk to much, bitch" he said as he fired another bullet. This time it made contact with her right shoulder and she hissed, jumping away from him.

"You'll pay for this Sanzo!" she screamed

"Sure I will," he said aiming his gun at her again. This time he would aim for the head. He put his finger on the trigger and stopped. A giant wave of demonic energy suddenly made itself known. Chisame obviously felt it also, and turned in the direction it was coming from.

"No...MY BABY!" she screamed.

Gojyo, Goku, and Hakkai felt the energy as well.

"What the hell is that?" Goku asked

"Holy shit..." Gojyo whispered as he saw it.

A giant cloud of dust rose from the ground and there was a loud thump as something large hit the ground, kicking dust up. As the sand cleared, Himari stood with her right arm covered in blood. She tossed something large towards Chisame who's eyes were wide in disbelief.

"M-my baby..." she whispered as she ran towards the object.

"Y-you killed him...YOU KILLED HIM!" she creamed, cradling the object against her chest. Himari had thrown its heart at her.

"You should learn to take better care of your things, Chisame," Himari said, flipping her hair out of her face. "Sending your pet after innocent girls isn't a great idea either"

Her normally pink eyes were now red and the finger nails on her right hand were sharp and almost claw-like, but still looked human.

"I'll kill you!" Chisame screamed as she lunged towards Himari, her own claws extended.

_**Bang!**_

Chisame fell to the ground before she could even reach Himari, blood pooling from under her head. The demons around the party began to disintegrate into nothing.

Sanzo stood with his gun pointed at her

"Tell me. What are you?" he asked, ready to pull the trigger.

Himari sighed and smiled a bit

"I guess my secret's out now...I'm really sorry Sanzo, but you'll have to wait for the answers..." she said weakly.

"Why's that?" he asked cautiously.

Himari suddenly collapsed, falling face first into the sand. Her hand returned to normal and the demonic energy Sanzo had felt faded slowly.

"What the hell..."


	5. Chapter 5

Himari awoke sudden to find herself laying in a bed. She had a cold washcloth draped over her forehead and a bowl of water lay on the bedside table. Looking around the room she came to the conclusion that the party had made it to a new town and rented out rooms at an inn. Slowly she began to sit up and the cloth fell into her lap. She felt dizzy and the room spun around as she tried to stare at something other than the sheets. Her body felt like lead and soon enough she fell back against the pillows.

"I probably shouldn't have used his powers..." she grumbled, lifting an arm and placing it over her eyes. The weight felt nice against them. Slowly she was lulled back to sleep.

* * *

"What do ya think she is?" Gojyo asked

He and the rest of the group sat around a table piled high with food as they discussed what happened in the desert. They had found their way into town exactly two days after the incident and Himari hadn't woken up since then. It was currently night time and the moon shone brightly outside the room's window.

"I'm really not sure. Her aura is that of a normal human but that power I felt was undoubtedly that of a demon" Sanzo said, lighting his cigarette.

"She seems to have woken up earlier. I went to check on her and she seems to have moved, but she's not awake. I can't sense and demonic energy from her anymore" said Hakkai

Goku sat scarfing down bowls of rice as he listened to the three talk. He really didn't have any idea what had happened but he could tell the others are uneasy.

"What'll happen if she really is a demon...?" he asked

"We'll have to get rid of her. We can't tell if she's an enemy or an ally and it's best not to take our chances. I was told to allow her into our group if I ever met her, but I won't do that if it puts us in danger," replied Sanzo.

"What do you mean? Who told you to let her in?" asked Gojyo

Sanzo exhaled, letting a puff of smoke drift across the table. He hadn't told the rest of the group, but now was as good a time as any.

"The day I was called to the Palace of the Setting Sun in Chang'an...the aspects told me that I might encounter a woman who has information about whoever is trying to resurrect Gyumaoh. I was told to let her into the group because she would have answers," he said "Himari is the name they gave me, but if she really is a threat to us I won't hesitate to kill her."

"Genjo Sanzo, that's really heroic of you. I'm sorry, but I have no information for you on the resurrection of Gyumaoh"

* * *

Himari awoke again hours later feeling much better. A new washcloth had been placed on her forehead and she removed it. She looked around the room as she sat in bed. There were three doors in the room, so she assumed that one must be connected to the room next door. Her suspicions were confirmed as she walked towards the door and heard the Sanzo party conversing.

"What'll happen if she really is a demon...?"

"We'll have to get rid of her. We can't tell if she's an enemy or an ally and it's best not to take our chances. I was told to allow her into our group if I ever met her, but I won't do that if it puts us in danger,"

"What do you mean? Who told you to let her in?"

"The day I was called to the Palace of the Setting Sun in Chang'an...the aspects told me that I might encounter a woman who has information about whoever is trying to resurrect Gyumaoh. I was told to let her into the group because they would have answers. Himari is the name they gave me, but if she really is a threat to us I won't hesitate to kill her."

Himari opened the door and leaned against the door frame.

"Genjo Sanzo, that's really heroic of you. I'm sorry, but I have no information for you on the resurrection of Gyumaoh" she said.

A banishing gun was soon pointed at her face. Amethyst eyes met hers and she gave Sanzo a cold stare.

"Sanzo are you really gonna shoot her?!" Goku asked.

"Sanzo, put that away. I am not your enemy."

"And how would I know that?"

"Because I too am trying to stop Gyumaoh's resurrection. It's the whole reason I joined your party in the first place."

_Grumble. Grumble._Himari's stomach growled, completely ruining the intense moment.

"Eat"

A bowl of rice was held up towards her and she sat down at the table to eat it.

"Thank you, Sanzo" she said as she began to devour the rice. How long had it been since she had eaten? She was completely starving!

"Don't thank me. I'm just making sure you don't pass out on me again like you did before. Now tell me everything you know."

She swallowed her food and helped herself to a cup of tea. She instantly began to feel better as her hunger was sated.

"Where would you like me to start?"

"Those powers, what are they?"

"Well, you are right. The powers belong to a demon, but I myself am a human. I made a deal with a demon prince named Kaito in the afterlife. I get my life back and get to use his powers, but in exchange for something..." she began.

"And that would be?"

"I must find a way to bring him back as well. In order for him to return to this world he has to be at full strength. Every time I use his power I bring him one step closer to regaining it. However, using it takes a toll on my body. I'm just not built like a demon. I'm really not sure how this exchange works and I'm still learning, but I will bring him back. That's where Gyumaoh comes in"

Goku, Gojyo, and Hakkai were all staring intently at her while Sanzo continued to smoke.

"Continue"

"Well, obviously whoever is trying to resurrect Gyumaoh has the power to do it. Rumor has it that they have technology from another time. I'm hoping to use this power to resurrect Kaito instead. I was told that your party is heading towards India to stop this, right? That's why I joined you."

Sanzo's cigarette burned out and he placed it in an astray

"I see. Tell me what you know about whoever is trying to resurrect Gyumaoh"

"Well, not much. The things I know are from rumors and whatever Kaito told me after he brought me back to life. I do know that they apparently have someone very powerful working for them, though. I'm not sure who, but it's just what I've heard. The only thing that's for certain is that this is all happening in India"

Sanzo listened. She really hadn't given him any new leads. Her reason for joining them seemed well enough, but the thought of resurrecting a demon prince didn't sit well with him. The powerful person she also spoke of interested him. He hadn't heard that rumor yet.

"Woah, Hima-chan! So those powers belong to a prince? How cool!" Goku said in awe. Himari laughed and patted his head.

"Yeah, Goku. They're pretty cool"

"So if he's a prince, and you have his powers, does that make you a princess?" Gojyo asked, sliding to sit next to her.

"As if, you only become a princess if you marry a prince, Gojyo. That's a dumb thing to ask" she said, taking a sip of tea.

"Miss Himari, are you sure you should be out of bed? You've been out for four days" said Hakkai

She spit out her tea onto Gojyo's face "FOUR DAYS?!"

"Yeah, two days on the road and the two days we've been here" Sanzo said "You're lucky we needed the rest too and didn't leave your ass behind."

"Wow...so I take it you're the one who took care of me, Hakkai?" she asked "I'm sorry if it caused you any trouble"

"Don't worry about it, I'm used to taking care of the injured in this group" Hakkai said with a smile.

"Thank you, so very much" Himari said finishing off her tea. She felt a lot better telling the group what had been weighing on her mind since she met them.


	6. Chapter 6

After telling the group her story, Himari had taken to playing with Hakuryuu as the boys played Mahjong. She and the white dragon watched, but she really couldn't understand what was going on in the game.

"Dammnit..." cursed Gojyo "How is it you always win?"

"Because I play against idiots" said Sanzo as he stood up "We're leaving first thing in the morning. I can't just sit around" He began to put the game pieces away as Gojyo and Hakkai left to go get ready.

"Hey Himari, what you said about the afterlife earlier. What did that mean?" asked Goku curiously. He went and sat on the bed next to her and waited for an answer.

_"How should I answer this...?" _she thought. "Well Goku... I died" she said sadly and stroked Hakuryuu's soft fur.

"Whaaa? So are you like a shikigami or something? Is that how you're alive?" His curiosity was astounding and she laughed

"No of course not. This is my real body. I'm one hundred percent alive"

"Woah, how can someone have the power to bring a person back to life?"

"I'm really not sure... but I'm just thankful to be alive, Goku. Don't question the gifts you've been given, just be thankful for them" she said and got up to stretch. She felt stiff from her lack of movement for four days. She was still amazed that she had been out for so long.

"Alright, to go further west we have to cross the forest just outside of this village. I don't know how long it'll take for us to get through it, but it looks easy enough" said Hakkai as he pulled out a map and laid it out on the table.

Himari, Sanzo, Goku, and Gojyo huddled around to look at it. The forest didn't really seem that big on the map.

* * *

"Who's bright idea was this again?" Gojyo was annoyed. Heck, everyone was somewhat annoyed. The forest that they had been attempting to cross was very shady. The sun could barely be seen through the tops of the trees. They had to cross by foot. The trees were too close together for the jeep to fit and the floor was soft and would sink slightly if someone stepped on it.

Smack. Smack. Smack. Smack! "I'M BEING EATEN ALIVE! There's so many mosquitos!" cried Goku as he swatted himself viciously. The small black demons kept latching onto him. No matter how many he swatted away he still felt them on his arms.

"Maybe we should have invested in some bug spray..." Himari said as she helped Goku smack mosquitoes off of him. A few had bitten her legs and arms, but they seemed to want Goku the most.

The leaves rustled in the wind and movement could be heard among the trees. The air was dense with humidity and dew drops fell from plants around the party. Soon they found themselves at the edge of a cliff peering down over the edge.

"Woah, that's a long fall" said Goku as he leaned over to stare down into the swiftly moving water beneath him.

"How are we gonna get across?" Himari asked. For as far as she could see there was no bridge to cross to the other side.

"Chances are there's a path somewhere that leads down by that river" Hakkai said.

"We'll split up then" said Sanzo

"I'll go with Hakkai. I'd only be slowed down if I went with the monkey" said Gojyo.

"Gojyo you're going with Goku. Hakkai, take Himari"

"Uhm, that's okay Sanzo. I'll go by myself" Himari said. She sort of wanted to explore the forest. It fascinated her.

"No way. We still can't fully trust you. You're going with Hakkai. That's final"

"Fine..." Himari said and threw an apologetic look Gojyo's way. She knew he'd just be annoyed with Goku. Her dreams of exploring the forest were crushed, too.

Sanzo walked off the way the group had come.

"C'mon you brat" Gojyo said smacking Goku over the head as he began to walk in another direction.

"Shall we go?" Hakkai asked

"Yeah, let's go" Himari said and walked with him.

"So where do you think this path is?" she asked as her eyes scanned her surroundings.

"Well, I don't really know, actually. I'm hoping if we follow the edge of this cliff to the end we'll find it" Hakkai replied with a laugh.

"Eh... Great plan..." Himari said and sighed. Getting through the forest was going to take forever. Even if they found the path down they would have to go find the rest of the group and then find a path to get pinto the other side.

They walked a little longer until Hakkai suddenly stopped. Himari stopped behind him.

"Why'd you stop Hakkai?"

"You don't feel that?"

Himari looked around but everything seemed fine

"No I don't, what's up?"

"I just felt -"

Suddenly a blast of energy flew out from between the trees and slammed straight into Hakkai. The impact send him over the edge of the cliff.

"HAKKAI!"

Himari looked over the edge of the cliff and searched for Hakkai. He must have fallen in the water, but where? She began to run along the cliff side as she looked into the river below. Then she saw it, green bobbing up and down under the water and it disappeared again. She ran faster until she got to a point where she thought she could beat the speed of the river. Then she jumped. She landed on her arm and she swore she felt something snap. The water was deep and the impact left her feeling dizzy. She tried her best to swim but the current was way to strong.

"Hakkai!" She screamed. Hopefully he was still conscious and could hear her.

"Hakkai where are you!?"

She felt something grab her leg tightly and she shrieked as it pulled her under. Suddenly the grip on her leg was gone and she opened her eyes under the water. Reaching forward she grabbed Hakkai by the shirt and pulled upwards. She gasped for breath and looked at him. He was completely slack in her arms.

"Hakkai are you alright?" She asked desperately trying to rouse a reaction. He grumbled something ineligible and then fell silent. She was pretty sure he had passed out. The fall into the river itself coupled with that blast he received had probably done it. Oh wait! She looked up towards the edge of the cliff but couldn't see anything. She was way far down, but she was pretty sure whatever had attacked Hakkai wasn't pursuing them. She tried to shift Hakkai so that she could hold him up better, but it was to no avail. She eventually gave up and concentrated on not going under herself. Her arms soon began to feel tired and she closed her eyes. "Don't pass out... Don't pass out..." she chanted to herself. The mantra wasn't working. She felt herself drifting until she heard the sound of splashing water.

She opened her eyes and they widened. Of all things to go wrong, this had to be one of them.

"You have got to be kidding me..." She whispered as she stared at the waterfall up ahead. She pulled Hakkai closer to herself and buried her face in his hair. _"I'm sorry I couldn't bring you back Kaito... I'm so sorry..."_ She thought as she braced herself for the drop. It soon came and she felt herself falling. She winced as she felt her shoulder smack against something hard, probably a rock. Pain blossomed across her shoulder and down into her arm, the same arm she had felt something snap in when she first hit the water. It was unbelievable. She had never broken a limb before, but if this is what it felt like she was sure glad she hadn't.

Her eyes had been closed for what seemed like eternity. She opened them slowly and the bright sun shone down into her eyes. She was alive. Her shoulder ached and she let out a frustrated sigh. She jerkily tried to move her arm but it only brought her pain so she stopped. Her back was sore, but was laying against something firm. Her right hand grasped at the earth underneath her and she felt sand between her fingers, wet and mold able. The sound of splashing drew her eyes towards the waterfall she had just fallen from.

"I got so lucky..." She whispered. The fall had been somewhat short and she saw the rock that was more than likely the cause for the pain in her shoulder. She turned to her left. Her eyes softened as she saw the figure of Hakkai laying next to her. He looked pretty beat up, but she probably did too. She hadn't been blasted off a cliff, however, so he won. Her eyes trailed downwards. Through the whole ordeal: she hadn't let go. Her hand was tightly wrapped around his wrist. She let out a bitter laugh. _"All this time and I'm still trying to help other people before myself..."_ She let go of his wrist and brought her hand up to push her bags out of her face.

"Kyuuuu, kyuuuu!"

She looked up and the small dragon flew in circles around her, finally landing next to his owner.

"Hey, Hakuryuu. I totally forgot you were with us..." Himari whispered "Take care of him, would ya?" Her eyes and closed and she felt herself drift off.

* * *

^_^ Big thank you to SouthParkRules642 ❤ Thank you so much for being the first to follow this story!


	7. Chapter 7

"Kyuu?"

Himari stared intently at the dragon in front of her. She had awoken on the sand again to find Hakkai still passed out. She currently had him under the shade of a tree as it was still pretty bright outside and she didn't want him to fry in the heat. Her stomach let out a growl and she sighed, hanging her head.

"What are we gonna do, Hakuryuu?" she asked. She had no idea what kind of plants were edible and she wasn't sure she could even try to catch an animal to eat in her condition. Her arm was definitely broken so it was cradled to her chest in an attempt to keep it from touching anything. Without a sling it was hard and every so often her arm would give out and fall a bit which would send her almost flailing to the ground in pain.

The white dragon just stared at her.

"Should I stay here or go find help?"

Stare.

"What if I leave and that thing comes back for Hakkai?"

Stare.

"Or what if I find the group but can't get back here..."

Stare.

"Hakuryuu help me out please!"

Himari was getting frustrated. Her arm hurt, she was hungry, and Hakkai was injured and passed out under a tree. She really didn't know what to do. Obviously Hakuryuu couldn't answer her questions and she sighed again. It would get dark in a couple hours. If she left and couldn't find her way back it would be trouble for both her and Hakkai. She decided it was safer to wait it out and sat down by Hakkai. She felt awful. He didn't seem to have any dangerous looking wounds. He was a little scratched up but besides that he was seemingly okay. She felt herself becoming sleepy and let out a yawn. _"No! Stay awake Himari!" _she mentally screamed at herself. She turned around and banged her head against a tree. _"Stay awake!" _

* * *

"Hey Sanzooo!" Goku yelled running to greet the priest. Gojyo walked leisurely behind the monkey, hands behind his head.

"Did you find a way down?" Sanzo asked

"Nope, none. You?" Gojyo replied

"No luck. There doesn't seem to be any path that could even lead to a way down"

"Crap. What are we gonna do now?"

"No clue. Think Hakkai's found it?"

The group's conversation was disrupted by a growling noise in the bushes. Sanzo readied his gun and both Gojyo and Goku got into a fighting stance. Out from the bushes emerged a huge white tiger with large, saber tooth fangs and glowing orange eyes. There was a thick collar around it's neck and a long chain lead further into the bushes. After it came a man dressed in green and gold robes. He had long blonde hair and orange eyes that matched the tiger's next to him.

"Welcome Sanzo Party. I've been waiting for you"

"Why do all these freaks keep waiting for us to arrive? I wish they'd just come after us" Gojyo sighed

"Yeah it's no fun! They keep wasting our time when we finally get to them!" Goku whined

"Who are you?" Sanzo asked, his gun pointed at the man. Sanzo was getting sick of running into enemies who were "waiting for them." They were all a bunch of freaks.

"My name is Rham, Genjo Sanzo. You really are as rude as the rumors say!" the man laughed "Tell me, have you seen your friend Cho Hakkai?"

Sanzo glared at him. What the hell? Had he done something to Hakkai?

"Ahhhh, I see how you look at me! All the rumors about you are true. However, I was sure that your teammate would have been harder to beat. I sent him flying straight into the river after I blasted him. I wish you could have seen it!" Rham laughed and stroked the tiger affectionately "You should have seen the face of the girl who was with him! Such fear...such worry!"

"What the hell did you do to them?" Sanzo asked. There was no way Hakkai could have lost that easily.

"Just as I said. I blasted Cho Hakkai into the river. He's probably drowned by now ~ Speaking of your friends... I left the girl alive. How silly of me. Say, Vesper, would you take care of her for me?" he asked the tiger as he continued to pat its head. It let out a low growl and Rham undid the collar. The second he was released the animal ran off behind his master.

"Shit! It's going after Himari!" Gojyo yelled, about to run after it.

"Leave her be. She can handle it" Sanzo said "We have a bigger problem at hand"

"Tell me Sanzo, are you really as good of a fighter as the rumors say?" Rham asked as he began to gather a ball of energy in his hand

_"Shit...he uses the same type of attacks as Hakkai..."_ Sanzo thought. Goku and Gojyo were readying themselves behind him.

Rham smirked. There was really no way he was going to let the famous Sanzo escape.

"I shall succeed in what my kin before me have failed" he said. The energy ball disappeared and he glowed a faint orange color. "Be prepared, Sanzo!" He ran towards Sanzo and the group of three broke apart, each jumping out of Rham's way. Sanzo fired at him and the bullet made contact with the back of Rham's head but he didn't go down. Reaching his hand behind his head, Rham removed the bullet that was lodged in his skull and thew it to the ground. Blood spewed freely from the wound and he turned to face the priest.

"Is that all you have?"

* * *

Himari sighed, putting her face against her left hand and leaning on it. She felt disgusting. Her hair was somewhat of a rat's nest, having dried strangely after being tossed about down the river. She looked at Hakkai who was still unconscious against the tree. She could tell it was going to get dark soon as the sun was starting to set.

"Say, Hakuryuu. Let's play a game" she suggested. The dragon just stared at her. She looked around the area they were in and reached out to grab a stick. She drew a number sign in the ground and drew an "O" in one of the boxes. She held out the stick to the dragon who took it in its mouth and drew a shakily drawn "X" in another box. Her face instantly lit up.

"Wow! You're such a smart little thing, aren't you?" she said, drawing another "O." The dragon let out a cute noise and drew an "X" then gave the stick back.

Drawing one last "O" she handed the stick back to Hakuryuu and a hand reached out to grab it from him, drawing an "X" and marking a line.

"It seems I win"

Himari looked up to see Hakkai standing over the two.

"Hakkai! You're awake! Are you feeling alright? You took a bad fall" she said turning to face him

"I'm kinda sore and feel like I've been hit by a ton of bricks but besides that I'm fine. Did you happen to see what attacked me?"

"Unfortunately no, by the time I looked back it was gone" she said

"How did we end up down here?" he asked as he looked up towards the waterfall and the sides of the high cliffs

"Well we floated down the river and down that fall and just sort of washed up in this small area. You've been out since this morning"

"Ah, I'm sorry to have been a bother" he laughed. He noticed Himari's disheveled hair and how she had her right arm cradled to her chest. "Where you attacked as well?" he asked. Himari shook her head and smiled sheepishly "Uh, no. I actually jumped in to make sure you hadn't died. Sorry I look like garbage."

He knelt down to her level and examined her arm "Is it...?"

She sighed. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's broken. I honestly can't move it at all. I hurt it by jumping in which is probably why you feel sore. That fall was hard. I also smacked it against a rock on the way down the falls which is probably what really did it"

Himari felt kind of dumb. Here Hakkai was who had been attacked and sent flying off into the river and she had just jumped in. But she had just jumped in and ended up getting a worse injury than he had. She was snapped out of her thoughts when Hakkai spoke.

"I'm afraid I can't fix what's broken, but may I see if there are any bruises I can heal? he asked. "Oh, uh...sure?" She blushed a little when Hakkai gently tugged her shirt down over her right shoulder. She cringed when she saw the nasty bruise that had formed. It was very large, spreading from the outer end of her collarbone and down her arm slightly near the shoulder area. The bruising had also spread to the back of her shoulder. Hakkai placed his hand gently over her shoulder and no matter how gentle his touch had been, she still felt it. "This looks really bad. Please hold still" he said and began to heal her with his chi. His hands glowed a soft green color and she felt a warming sensation in her shoulder. It felt very nice. It almost made her want to go back to sleep. The warm feeling soon disappeared and her shoulder area felt a tiny bit better, but not by much. The bruise had gone from a dark, dark red to a reddish-purple.

"I've healed some of the bruising, but it's still pretty bad. I'm sorry I couldn't do more, I guess I'm more exhausted than I thought I was" he said apologetically

"Oh really don't worry about it Hakkai! It feels a little better now" she said, adjusting her shoulder slowly. She mentally hissed at the pain and tugged her shirt back over her shoulder. She was definitely going to have to see a doctor. She leaned on her left arm and was going to attempt to stand when Hakkai held out his hand to her and helped her up "Thank you very much Hakkai, I feel like a turtle on its back without my right arm" she said "You're such a good man. I'm surprise no lady has claimed you as hers yet. You'd be a wonderful husband!"

Hakkai smiled sadly "Yeah..." she instantly felt bad. Had she said something wrong? "Oh, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought something like that up! Please forgive me! It wasn't my intention to upset you. I was just extending a compliment!" she said. Hakkai laughed it off "It's really fine, don't worry about it. It seems we have a visitor" he said. "Huh?"

A rustling noise in the bushes made Himari turn to face them.

"Who's there?" Hakkai called out.

A growl came from the bushes and out jumped a huge white tiger who charged straight at Himari. Hakkai tried to shoot a blast of chi at it, but the attack barely did anything and soon Himari felt blood flowing from her right shoulder. She was laying on the ground with the tiger on top of her, its teeth sinking into the already injured flesh of her right shoulder with a sickening noise. She felt her vision become blurry with pain and she could barely register what was going on. It seemed like forever. She felt her blood pulsing in her veins and she shakily rose her left hand and placed it on the tigers side. Her eyes closed.

Hakkai watched as the tiger sank its fangs into Himari's shoulder as they both fell to the ground. His chi blast hadn't done anything. Blood was seeping onto the ground below them. Hakkai felt himself begin to panic. He had no way to save her. His body hadn't recovered well from the blast and he wasn't sure why. It hadn't even left much of an impact on him physically. _"What do I do..." _He honestly could not think. He was powerless. No...not powerless. He felt the limiters on his ear throb. But he couldn't. He couldn't possibly remove them. He had no idea what would happen. But in that split moment he found his hand raised to his ear, about to remove the limiters.

Himari's eyes opened, now a bright red. She slammed the tiger down, snapping one of it's teeth off in the process. Blood spewed from her shoulder and she ripped out the tooth that it had left behind. There was now a visible hole in her right shoulder. She stood up as the tiger writhed a bit on the floor. _"Thank you Kaito..."_ she thought closing her eyes for a second. Standing up as best as she could with one arm she noticed Hakkai staring at her "I'm really sorry you have to see this, Hakkai. It's pretty disgusting" she said and scratched the back of her head.

Hakkai's hand dropped from his ear and he stared as he felt a sudden surge of demonic energy. Himari was now standing as if nothing had happened, right arm still cradled to her chest. The nails on it had grown longer than her natural nail length. She was using those demon powers again. "No, it's quite alright" he said, still staring. The demonic energy felt stronger than it had in the desert. A growl brought his and Himari's attention towards the now recovered tiger. It looked angrier than it had when it had first attacked.

It lunged again at Himari who jumped out of the way. She looked down at her left arm and she felt absolutely no power in it. It was just a normal human arm. _"Crap! I can only use my right?!" _She dodged the tiger again and again. It didn't even look at Hakkai once. It obviously had no interest in him, just her. She landed near Hakkai. "I'm really sorry Hakkai, but I'm about to mess up what you tried to heal earlier" she said. "What?" The tiger once again jumped at her. She pushed Hakkai away with her left arm and quickly straightened up her right arm which made disgusting cracking noises. The tiger collided with her right arm and landed in a heap on the ground, blood pouring from it's side. It definitely wasn't dead but it couldn't try to hurt her now.

As soon as the tiger fell, she crumpled to the floor and clutched at her arm. The pain was paralyzing. She couldn't feel anything but the pain in her arm. More blood flowed from her shoulder and she felt herself getting dizzy. She closed her eyes and tried to hold in her sounds of discomfort. She felt like screaming. It was like a fire blazing throughout her right arm that just kept getting worse. She tried to stop herself from wriggling around too much, but it was no use. She could feel tears leaking from her eyes but she could care less.

"Himari! Are you alright?!" Hakkai asked as he ran to her side. She was clutching her arm to her chest and was shaking slightly. He tried to touch her to see what was happening to her but she stopped him with a weak "Don't..."

She lay there for a good ten minutes in agony and then the pain began to fade slowly. She felt the bleeding stop. She felt the pain in her arm slowly turn into a dull throb. It was over... Lifting her head slowly she saw Hakkai looking at her with a worried expression "Are you alright?"

She closed her eyes and leaned her forehead against the ground. "My dear Himari, I hope that you feel better soon" she heard a voice say. "You've been doing so well these few months. I can only hope that my healing is sufficient for you. I'm not even close to my full power. Rest easy for now"

She raised her head but it was just her and Hakkai. No one else was around. _"Am I going crazy?"_

From behind them the tiger let out a cry of pain and disintegrated into orange light particles. She watched them float off into the distance.

* * *

"Hakkai! Himari! Where have you been!?" Goku cried as he saw the two and Hakuryuu coming in the distance. Hakkai was carrying Himari on his back who looked pretty beaten up.

"Woah, you look awful! Are you alright?" Gojyo asked

"Kinda. I'm sorry Gojyo, it's kind of a long story" she said as she rested her head against Hakkai's back. She felt even worse now. Blood had soaked onto his nice green shirt from where he was carrying her.

Sanzo let out a puff of smoke "I take it you ran into that freak's tiger?"

"That freak?" Himari asked.

"We met the demon who attacked Hakkai. That tiger that attacked you belonged to him" he said "You feeling alright Hakkai?"

"Yeah, but I can't seem to use much of my chi. Besides that, I'm fine"

"Good. That freak sapped your powers. He tried using them against us in a fight but obviously he couldn't control them like you can. You should be back to normal with some rest"

"Himari! What's that?" Goku asked as he eyed the thing strapped to Himari's waist.

"Oh, Goku it's a tiger's tooth. I got it from that tiger that nearly tore my arm off" she said as she tapped Hakkai on the shoulder to let her down. Holding on to his neck with just her left arm was starting to leave her even more sore. Her feet touched the ground and she removed the tooth from her waist, giving it to Goku.

"Woah! Can I keep this?!" he asked as he examined it

"Yeah, of course you can" she said. Her arm felt better. It felt completely healed, except...she couldn't move it. The wounds around her shoulder were completely gone and she honestly felt fine.

"Sanzo, did you happen to find a way across? she asked

"Yeah, there's a bridge the way you and Hakkai had gone. Way to not see it" he said

Himari sighed. Leave it to Sanzo to be rude even after an almost near-death experience.


End file.
